Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhangjiakou and Shenzhen

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhangjiakou: $776 a month against $1,131 in Shenzhen, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Zhangjiakou
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Zhangjiakou Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Shenzhen
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Shenzhen Living Index

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Zhangjiakou

🇨🇳 China

$776

/mo nomad

Shenzhen

🇨🇳 China

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zhangjiakou and in Shenzhen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Zhangjiakou and in Shenzhen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $776 in Zhangjiakou versus $1,131 in Shenzhen.

Zhangjiakou $776
Shenzhen $1,131

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,223 in Zhangjiakou versus $1,741 in Shenzhen.

Zhangjiakou $1,223
Shenzhen $1,741

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,670 in Zhangjiakou versus $2,352 in Shenzhen.

Zhangjiakou $1,670
Shenzhen $2,352

Living in Zhangjiakou costs roughly 31% less than in Shenzhen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Zhangjiakou 43% lower, Shenzhen 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.21 ¥14.72

$3.73 ¥24.82

-40.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.26 ¥161

$29.92 ¥199

-18.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.91 ¥39.37

$5.36 ¥35.67

10.26%

Cappuccino

$3.50 ¥23.30

$3.39 ¥22.56

3.24%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.35

$0.55 ¥3.66

-9.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 ¥1.72

$0.35 ¥2.35

-25.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.92 ¥6.14

$1.47 ¥9.80

-37.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 ¥11.27

$2.17 ¥14.44

-22.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 ¥9.86

$1.59 ¥10.60

-6.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 ¥14.73

$1.63 ¥10.83

35.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 ¥7.07

$1.14 ¥7.56

-7.02%

Eggs

$1.06 ¥7.03

$1.78 ¥11.83

-40.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.23 ¥101

$21.25 ¥141

-28.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.98 ¥19.80

$3.45 ¥23.00

-13.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.59 ¥63.8

$14.69 ¥97.8

-34.72%

Apples (1kg)

$1.66 ¥11.02

$2.23 ¥14.87

-25.56%

Banana (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.16

$1.61 ¥10.69

-42.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 ¥11.70

$1.89 ¥12.61

-6.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 ¥8.10

$1.41 ¥9.37

-13.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.37

$1.04 ¥6.92

-22.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.57 ¥3.80

$1.25 ¥8.32

-54.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 ¥4.13

$0.56 ¥3.74

10.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ¥4.93

$0.61 ¥4.03

21.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 ¥24.17

$4.38 ¥29.17

-17.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.60 ¥90.5

$11.72 ¥78.0

16.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 ¥7.10

$0.98 ¥6.50

9.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 ¥16.16

$1.83 ¥12.15

32.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.90

$0.57 ¥3.80

-49.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.61 ¥117

$22.57 ¥150

-21.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 ¥7.19

$1.52 ¥10.11

-28.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ¥2.17

$0.38 ¥2.54

-13.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.21 ¥41.37

$6.99 ¥46.50

-11.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ¥7.83

$1.35 ¥8.98

-12.59%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.6K ¥130.6K

$19.8K ¥131.8K

-0.91%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$17.0K ¥113.3K

$17.9K ¥119.2K

-4.97%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$95.7 ¥637

$62.8 ¥418

52.47%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$6.22 ¥41.40

$10.25 ¥68.2

-39.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.68 ¥51.1

$16.36 ¥109

-53.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.01 ¥280

$49.52 ¥330

-15.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.20 ¥101

$17.32 ¥115

-12.24%

Cinema Ticket

$7.30 ¥48.57

$7.64 ¥50.8

-4.45%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$342 ¥2,275

$526 ¥3,503

-35.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,321 ¥35.4K

$24.5K ¥163.3K

-78.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.73 ¥298

$55.1 ¥367

-18.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.35 ¥189

$39.99 ¥266

-29.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.5 ¥643

$72.3 ¥482

33.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 ¥399

$92.7 ¥617

-35.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,954

$771 ¥5,135

-61.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$182 ¥1,214

$478 ¥3,181

-61.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$622 ¥4,142

$1,984 ¥13.2K

-68.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$379 ¥2,523

$852 ¥5,671

-55.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,446 ¥22.9K

$13.6K ¥90.8K

-74.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,966 ¥13.1K

$6,013 ¥40.0K

-67.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$382 ¥2,544

$1,751 ¥11.7K

-78.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.54

3.35

5.67%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Zhangjiakou: October 18, 2026

Last update for Shenzhen: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Zhangjiakou

$214 27.6%

Shenzhen

$251 22.2% 17.5% $37

Accommodation & Living

Zhangjiakou

$182 23.5%

Shenzhen

$478 42.3% 162% $296

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhangjiakou

$110 14.1%

Shenzhen

$89 7.9% 18.5% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Zhangjiakou

$103 13.3%

Shenzhen

$117 10.4% 13.3% $14

Eating Out

Zhangjiakou

$88 11.4%

Shenzhen

$102 9% 15.1% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Zhangjiakou

$57 7.3%

Shenzhen

$65 5.7% 14.5% $8.2

Getting Around

Zhangjiakou

$21 2.8%

Shenzhen

$28 2.5% 31.8% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $294 in Zhangjiakou and $771 in Shenzhen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shenzhen pays about 4.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $24 in Zhangjiakou vs $30 in Shenzhen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $251 per month, with Zhangjiakou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Zhangjiakou

🇨🇳 Shenzhen

🕒 Local time

03:31 3:31 AM

Same time as Zhangjiakou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,345,491

12,528,300

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Zhangjiakou Shenzhen 2,030 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

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Zhangjiakou
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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Zhangjiakou vs Shenzhen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zhangjiakou wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Shenzhen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Zhangjiakou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 78% lower in Zhangjiakou. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $294 in Zhangjiakou versus $771 in Shenzhen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Zhangjiakou runs roughly 22% less than in Shenzhen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $342 in Zhangjiakou versus $526 in Shenzhen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $776 in Zhangjiakou versus $1,131 in Shenzhen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhangjiakou but tight or insufficient in Shenzhen. The gap between the two cities makes Zhangjiakou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Zhangjiakou is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Shenzhen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Zhangjiakou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Shenzhen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.